When I was pregnant with our first pup, our mate bond unstable and my own life force fading, my fated mate, Kaelen Blackwood, abandoned me at the entrance of the Moon Temple.

He insisted on taking an injured Omega from his Pack, Seraphina, home first.

I could feel the life of our unborn pup slipping away through our fragile bond, but he left without a backward glance.

He was supposed to be at the Moon Temple, by my side. Instead, an image of him comforting Seraphina flashed across the Inter-pack network.

The caption read: “Thank you to my Alpha. Guess who gets his protection on a terrifying night? Me!”

My heart turned to ash.

The next morning, I calmly opened a mind-link to my father.

“Father, I've made my decision. In three days, I will return to the Silvermoon Clan.”

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1

Silence stretched for two seconds on the other end of the mind-link, followed by a deep sigh.

“Good. Just come home. That's all that matters.”

“I'll be waiting for you.”

Hearing my father's voice, I suppressed a sharp pang in my chest and severed the link.

After the connection was cut, I placed a hand on my still-flat stomach, and silent tears streamed down my cheeks.

The priestess told me the pup's soul had begun to dissipate before it could fully form. If Kaelen had soothed me with his Alpha's strength sooner, there might have been a chance…

“I'm sorry, my sweet pup. I couldn't protect you. I'm so… so sorry…” I sobbed, my breath catching in my throat.

A young priestess making her rounds pushed the door open. She seemed accustomed to such sorrow, yet her eyes still held a flicker of compassion.

“Losing an unborn pup is a devastating loss. But why are you here all alone? Where is your mate? Why isn't he by your side?” Her voice was laced with concern.

I had just lost our pup, lying alone on a cot in the temple. Yet the only person who cared about me was a priestess I had never met. Meanwhile, my mate was likely waking up in another woman's arms.

My sobs slowly subsided, and I murmured in anguish, “He's dead…”

The priestess’s expression softened into an apology, her gaze filling with a new depth of sympathy.

In the end, I didn't follow the priestess's advice and insisted on leaving the Moon Temple. My body trembled as I stared at the report detailing the dissipation of our pup's soul.

How could my pup be reduced to nothing more than a cold report? This pain was not something I should have to bear alone.

When I returned to the Alpha's mansion, the house was empty. Just as I'd expected, Kaelen hadn't come home last night.

He had spent the night with another woman. And I knew no one would believe nothing had happened between them.

In the past, I would have been frantically calling him through our mind-link. Now, I just felt exhausted.

A familiar presence brushed against my mind. Kaelen.

The moment I connected, his concerned voice echoed in my mind. “Elara, are you okay? Something happened to Seraphina. She was terrified last night and she's still a wreck. I'm calming her down…”

After he finished, I responded calmly, “You were with her last night.”

I kept my tone flat, making it a statement, not a question.

After a brief silence, Kaelen's voice roared through our mind-link. “Elara Vance!”

“Why is your mind always in the gutter? Seraphina is a member of my Pack. Since she was frightened, isn't it my responsibility as an Alpha to take care of her?”

“Seraphina is right here with me. She's tormented by her past and she's sick with worry.”

“Can you put aside your jealousy for one second and stop making things worse for her?”

Hearing Kaelen raise such a fuss over another woman, I asked, “When you left me at the Moon Temple yesterday, did it ever occur to you that I might have been in pain, too?”

My words silenced him. Then, he interrupted impatiently, “You were at the Moon Temple with the priestesses. What could possibly have happened? Stop being so dramatic. Apologize to Seraphina, and we can move past this.”

Hearing his words, I laughed.

Kaelen mistook my laughter as a sign my anger was fading and said, “Good. I'll find a time to bring her over. You can apologize to her then.”

I severed the mind-link, blocking him completely, and booked the earliest private jet for three days from now.

Kaelen and I were fated mates. Our union had elevated his Pack's status, and it had been three years. But our mate bond was already crumbling.

All of our arguments revolved around Seraphina Thorne.

On the anniversary of our bonding ceremony, Seraphina needed comforting; when I was in heat and needed him most, she was being tracked by enemies.

Every time, with just one weak call from her, Kaelen would drop everything and leave.

Even in the moment I lost our pup, he failed to be the mate and father he should have been.

The pain eventually lulled me into a restless sleep. I was only startled awake when Kaelen returned at midnight and flicked on the bedroom light.

His expression was thunderous. “Elara, why did you block me?”

Seeing I didn't respond, he strode over, roughly shoved his cold hand under the waistband of my pajama bottoms, and pressed it against my lower abdomen.

His Alpha scent only sharpened the ache inside me.

He withdrew his hand and said, “This is payback for your pettiness. I told you. She's just a member of my Pack. I help her purely out of my duty as an Alpha.”

A sharp cramp shot through my lower abdomen. I was in too much pain to find the strength or the will to argue with him.

Kaelen sighed in resignation. “Alright. Don't be angry anymore. I'm sorry, it was my fault. I'll do better, okay?”

His perfunctory apology was the same empty promise I'd heard countless times. In the end, I was the only one who ever took them seriously.

A dull ache spread through my chest at the thought.

Noticing my pale face, Kaelen offered to get me some herbs. “Pregnancy pains again? You really need to take better care of yourself. I'll get you some soothing herbs.”

“I'm so good to you, yet you always manage to piss me off.”

His condescending concern was a slap in the face. A mother who had just lost her pup needed her mate's comfort, not his charity. It seemed he had never truly cared for me.

While Kaelen was rummaging in the storage room, he left his comm crystal on the bedside table. The screen was flashing with the name “S, my little trouble.”

I calmly averted my gaze and reached for the glass of water on the nightstand.

Kaelen appeared as if out of nowhere, lunging forward to snatch the crystal away.

In the process, the silver warding charm he wore to block out distracting thoughts scraped across the back of my hand, leaving a searing mark.

The skin on the back of my hand flared an angry red from the burn.

“What are you doing? I told you there's nothing between Seraphina and me, yet you sneak a look at my messages when I'm not here! Stop being so paranoid!”

I looked at the panic flashing in his eyes and said calmly, “I was just getting some water.”

My calmness seemed to catch him off guard. Realizing he had overreacted, he tried to smooth things over.

“Stubborn as ever, huh? Did you burn your hand? Let me see.”

He took my hand, blowing gently on the silver burn. “I am your mate. If you can't trust me, who can? Our mate bond is built on trust—”

“Is it?” I cut him off, staring directly into his eyes.

“Of course. Our pup is getting bigger now. Everything should be fine, right?” He showed no guilt, trying to lean in for a kiss, but I turned my face away, avoiding his touch.

Annoyance flashed in his eyes. He was about to speak when an urgent knocking came from outside the mansion.

It was Seraphina. She stood at the door in a revealing silk nightgown. Her hair was a mess, and her eyes were red and swollen.

Kaelen instinctively moved to go to her but glanced at me. He stiffened, forcing a stern expression onto his face. “It's late. Why are you here?”

I watched them coolly. “How does she know the passcode for our wards?”

He stiffened unnaturally and replied, “She left something here when I was handling some affairs for her old Pack.”

“We weren't home at the time, so I told her to come get it herself.”

Seraphina shrank back. “Alpha Kaelen is right, Elara. I'm sorry to bother you, but I thought I sensed a rogue near my house. I was scared, so I—I…”

Kaelen stepped forward and draped his own coat over her shoulders. His gaze softened with pity as he looked at Seraphina.

“It's fine. You can stay here tonight, and I'll check on your place in the morning. Wear this. You'll catch a chill,” Kaelen replied.

Seraphina shot me a triumphant glance. Then, she bit her lip and said in a low voice, “Elara, if you're uncomfortable, I'll leave right away. Please don't fight with Alpha Kaelen because of me.”

Kaelen's expression darkened, and he turned to me.

“She's a mess right now. Can you drop the jealous mate act for five minutes? She's young and all alone. Be more considerate, can't you?”

A sharp pain twisted my abdomen. I could barely stand, let alone process what he had said.

“Whatever.” I turned and walked into the bedroom.

Kaelen seemed to freeze for a moment, then turned to settle Seraphina in the guest room.

He gave the calming herbs to her instead.

He never came back to our bedroom; it was clear he had spent the night on the sofa outside the guest room.

Kaelen and I had met at a summit between our two clans.

Once, while we were strolling through the Moonlight Forest after a meeting, a pack of rogues cornered us.

They hurled crude insults and tried to lay their hands on me.

Kaelen had thrown himself in front of me without hesitation, his raw Alpha power blazing as he took on three adult rogues.

I quietly sent out a distress signal. However, by the time the Clan's guardians arrived, Kaelen was already lying unconscious on the ground.

Tears pricked my eyes at the memory.

How had we gotten to this point?

The next morning, the house was empty. I packed a few bags, leaving everything Kaelen had ever given me untouched.

The guest room door was open. With a single glance, I saw a piece of lace lingerie at the foot of the bed, heavy with the scent of an Omega's pheromones.

I walked over, captured an image of it using a sliver of my power, and sent it to Kaelen.

Just as I was about to leave, I ran into his parents.

They grabbed me excitedly, suggesting a naming ceremony and a celebration party for the pup.

A sharp pain lanced through my chest, and I answered in anguish, “It's too early for that.”

They ignored my words and mind-linked Kaelen.

“Hey, Mom, Dad. What's up?”

His thoughts came through, followed by a woman's voice, clear as day in the background.

“Kaelen, I think I left my underwear at your house.”

“What should I do? Do you think she'll find it?”

His parents, who were about to speak, froze. Then, as if realizing their mistake, they hastily cut the public projection of the link.

“You bastard! Get that Omega away from you!”

“Are you trying to worry your mother and me to death!”

I picked up my bag, unwilling to watch their charade. “Excuse me. I have other business to attend to. I'm leaving.”

They looked like they wanted to say something, but ultimately swallowed their words.

I went to the Pack's archives.

After our union, my father had wanted me to stay in the Silvermoon Clan and learn to manage our ancient family.

However, I had insisted on coming to the Blackwood Pack, taking only a nominal position in its archives.

As I arrived at my desk to pack my things, I heard whispers coming from the break room.

“Poor her. She gave her noble bloodline and the best years of her life to the Alpha, only to be replaced by some stray Omega.”

“You should have seen the state of that Omega the other day.”

“She's so two-faced. I don't know how the Alpha fell for her act. She screwed up a huge deal last time, and he didn't even get mad!”

My hands paused for a moment, but I continued packing.

The comm crystal beside me kept lighting up, so I reached over and flipped it facedown.

Kaelen arrived much later, his face darkening when he saw what I'd done. “What are you doing?”

I replied calmly, “Resigning. I'm going back to the Silvermoon Clan to focus on my pregnancy.”